Berbice

Berbice developed along the river of the same name in the Guianas, where tropical lowland forest and muddy waterways define the landscape. In 1627 the merchant Abraham van Peere of Vlissingen established the colony under the Dutch West India Company. Until 1714 it remained the personal possession of Van Peere and his descendants, which tied its fortunes to one family and to the Dutch Atlantic world.

Settlement followed the Berbice and Canje rivers, and plantations spread along their banks, using the waterways to move goods and people. Fort Nassau was the capital until 1790, when New Amsterdam, grown around Fort Sint Andries, took its place. Britain took control of the territory in 1815, and in 1831 it was merged with Demerara-Essequibo to form British Guiana.

The later city of New Amsterdam lies here.